History of Stem Cells Essay -- Medicine

History of Stem Cells Abstract This paper will be discussing the history of stem cells. There are many different ways to collect stem cells. Stem cells can be used for either right or wrong reasons. People can either use them to cure or to cause harm. Most people use stem cells to cure fatal illnesses. The one researcher that put stem cells out in the science world so people could understand it better was Leroy Stevens. His first encounter with stem cells was with a mouse that had a teratoma. Most people don’t understand the need for stem cells. There are many reasons why we research stem cells. Stem cells can be collected form a wide variety of places. The studies of stem cells have been around for many years. There were many people researching stem cells during the early 1900s, but Leroy Stevens had the greatest impact on the future study of stem cells. The people of ancient civilization were curious about the study of stem cells. Hindus from the thirteen and fourteen centuries BC knew that the result of the fetus would come from mixing two seeds of the parents (Kelly 16). They weren't the only people who wondered about the studies of stem cells. Greek philosopher named Aristotle was also interested in the study of stem cells so he discovered two very important theories. The two theories were Perfomation and Epigenesis (Kelly 16). According to the theory of Peromation, the fetus grows over time (Kelly 16). In contrast, Epigenesis means tat the fetus begins as a generic mass and then different parts are added to the fetus (Kelly 16). - 2 - Researching on mice was began in a Laboratory in Bar Harbor in Maine. In the year of 1953, researcher Leroy Stevens began on an experiment with cancerous mice. This laboratory was awa... ... been beneficial to humans by improving the lives of those who have potentially fatal diseases. In the future of stem cells research more and more fatal diseases will be cured because of the technology gained from stem cells research. That’s why we need to keep on researching stem cells. - 5 - Work cited page 1. Kelly , Evelyn. Stem cells . connecticut : greenwood press , 2007. 2. "What are stem cells and what are they used for?." 24 April 2001. HowStuffWorks.com. 22 July 2008. 3. n.d. The University of Utah, Genetic Science Learning Center. 26 July 2008 . 4. n.d. Tiantan Puhua Stem Cell Center. 26 July 2008 . 5. n.d. Tiantan Puhua Stem Cell Center. 27 July 2008 .